Cited Documents as Concept Symbols

An interpretation of citation practice in scientific literature is offered which regards citation of a document as an act of symbol usage. By examining the language of the text around the footnote number the particular idea the citing author is associating with the cited document may be determined. the document is viewed as symbolic of the idea expressed in the text. This analysis was done for a sample of very highly cited documents in chemistry. A high degree of uniformity is revealed in the association of specific concepts with specific documents. These documents may be seen, in Leach's terms, as 'standard sym bols' for particular ideas, methods, and experimental data in chemical science. Some implications of these findings for the social determination of scientific knowledge (conceived as a dialogue among citing authors on the 'meaning' of earlier texts), and the relationship between cited documents as concept symbols and Kuhn's exemplars, are discussed.